Triggering event processing

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and programs for processing extra data when a triggering event occurs. In one embodiment, an application, triggering event data, and extra data is stored on a wireless device. The wireless device monitors a triggering event parameter associated with an application, such as the expiration of the application. When the triggering event occurs, the wireless device processes the extra data in addition to processing associated with the triggering event data. The extra data may include URLs, scripts or other instructions that involve processing locally to the wireless device or requiring connection to a wireless network for remote processing on other devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present Application for Patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 60/435,085 entitled “Triggering Event Processing” filedDec. 19, 2002, and assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

[0002] I. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention generally relates to computer networks andcommunications across computer networks. More particularly, theinvention relates to the initiation or continuation of processing basedon a triggering event associated with an application or data on thewireless device.

[0004] II. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Wireless devices are being developed that allow for the executionof applications on these wireless devices. In addition, systems arebeing developed that allow the downloading of these applications,including data and other content, onto the wireless device using awireless network. The ability to download applications onto a wirelessdevice provides several advantages. One advantage includes the abilityof a user to tailor their wireless device with the applications theywant. Another advantage includes not requiring the wireless devicemanufacturer to load all the applications that may be wanted by the userprior to shipment. In addition, the carrier, who's network will be usedby the wireless device, is not required to determine which applicationsthe user will want to use prior to selling the wireless device for useon the network. The carrier can also dynamically determine whichapplications they will allow to execute on their network.

[0006] Carriers, in addition to allowing applications to execute ontheir network, also provide other features to users of the network.Features include additional functions and/or services associated withthe wireless device. Such features may include access to special datatransmission rates, caller identification and voice mail, access to GPS,MPEG or other functions supported by the wireless device.

[0007] Typically, the features available to a user of a wireless deviceare defined to the phone prior to receipt by the user. This is done inadvance because, depending on the feature, the phone may requiresophisticated instructions to activate the feature on the handset.Furthermore, the handset may not have an application that requires thefeature and, therefore, the activation is not necessary. Some featuresrequire that the server associated with the carrier providing service tothe wireless device update information allowing this feature to be usedby the phone. For example, if the user wants a voice mail feature, acarrier server will be configured so that the wireless device has accessto voice mail.

[0008] Currently, users who wish to include these features, or executeapplications that will require access to these features, can only addthese features using few methods. One method is having the featuresactivated when the wireless device is purchased. This is sometimes,however, difficult for the user to anticipate all the features they maywant. As described above, the user will be able to tailor their wirelessdevices with new applications as they become available. It will notnecessarily be known by the user that an application available in thefuture uses a feature that they should have activated.

[0009] In addition, it is foreseeable that a user may only want afeature for a short period of time, such as during the time they intendto use an application that takes advantage of the feature or to use on atrial basis to see if they like the feature. This user would not want tohave the manufacturer install or activate this feature if they only wantto use for a short time.

[0010] Another method is to have the user contact a carrier operator.This is a can be a cumbersome process where the user must call thecarrier. The carrier is verbally instructed what feature the user wants.The carrier configures the server associated with that user to indicatethe feature is active. The carrier also then verbally instructs the userto perform a sequence of complicated commands to activate the feature onthe wireless device. This creates many problems. Not only is itcumbersome and complex for the user, it inhibits the user's desire toadd features to the phone, thus limiting the carrier's ability toprovide additional features to a current user.

[0011] Consequently, what is needed in the art are systems and methodsto allow features be made accessible to phone in a dynamic nature sothat the user may add features without cumbersome instructions.Furthermore, such systems and methods would provide a period ofexpiration to disable or remove the features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention is a system, method, and computer programfor activating features associated with a wireless device. In oneembodiment, a system for activating a feature for a wireless deviceincludes a wireless device configured to receive a request to activate afeature associated with the wireless device, to configure the wirelessdevice to access the feature, and to send a message to a server atactivate the feature, and the server configured to receive a message toactivate a feature associated with the wireless device and to modify theinformation files associated with the wireless device associated withactivating the feature.

[0013] In another embodiment, a method for activating a feature on awireless device includes receiving a request to activate the feature,requesting a component from a download server, receiving the componentat the wireless device, and executing the component on the wirelessdevice, wherein the component comprising configuring the wireless deviceso that the feature is activated, sending a message to a profile serverto configure the feature on the profile server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Objects, advantages, and features of the present invention willbecome apparent after review of the hereinafter set forth BriefDescription of the Drawings, Detailed Description of the Invention, andthe Claims.

[0015]FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting a wireless network and with severalcomputer devices that communicate with each other across the network.

[0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hardware components of thewireless network providing communication between different wirelessdevices, an application download server, a carrier network server havinga user profile database associated with wireless devices.

[0017]FIG. 3 depicts a component architecture of a system for activatinga feature on a wireless device in an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0018]FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting the high-level steps associatedwith activating a feature for a wireless device in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting the steps to activate a feature ona wireless device in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system depicting the elements inprocessing a triggering event associated with an application on awireless device in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting the high level steps associatedwith processing a triggering event in a wireless device in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting the processing associated with anapplication expiration triggering event and processing a URL upon thetrigger of the expiration in an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] With reference to the figures in which like numerals representlike elements throughout, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system10 for providing subscribed software applications to one or morewireless devices, such as cellular telephone 12, in communication acrossa wireless network 14 with at least one network server, such asapplication download server 16, that selectively downloads or providedaccess to software applications or other data to the wireless devicesacross a wireless communication portal or other data access to thewireless network 14. As shown here, the wireless device can be acellular telephone 12, a personal digital assistant 18, a pager 20,which is shown here as a two-way text pager, or even a separate computerplatform 22 that has a wireless communication portal, and may otherwisehave a wired connection 24 to a network or the Internet. The system 10can thus be performed on any form of remote computer module including awireless communication portal, including without limitation, wirelessmodems, PCMCIA cards, access terminals, personal computers, accessterminals, telephones without a display or keypad, or any combination orsub-combination thereof.

[0024] The application download server 16 is shown here on a localserver-side network 26 with other computer elements in communicationwith the wireless network 14, such as a database 28 with storedapplications and data that contains software applications and data thatare accessible and downloadable to the wireless devices 12,18,20,22.There is also shown other network servers, such as server 30 andstand-alone network server 32. The server 30 and 32 can be applicationor data download servers, or other types of servers that interact withthe wireless devices 12,18,20,22 as are known in the art. The servers16,30,32 may have software applications, patches, files, keys, graphicsdata, compression algorithms, and any type of general data, collectivelyreferred to hereinafter as “datasets,” resident thereupon that can beaccessed by the wireless devices 12,18,20,22 as is further describedherein. It should be noted that server-side functions as describedherein can be performed on one server, such as application downloadserver 16. Further, a computer server-side computer platform can provideseparate services and processes to the wireless devices 12,18,20,22across the wireless network 14.

[0025]FIG. 2 is a block diagram that more fully illustrates thecomponents of a wireless network 14 and interrelation of the elements ofan exemplary embodiment. The wireless network 14 is merely exemplary andcan include any system whereby remote modules, such as wireless devices12,18,20,22, communicate over-the-air between and among each otherand/or between and among components of a wireless network 14, including,without limitation, wireless network carriers and/or servers. Theapplication download server 16 and the stored applications database 28,other server 30, will be present on the cellular data network with anyother components that are needed to provide cellular telecommunicationservices. The application download server 16, and/or other server 30communicate with a carrier network 40, through a data link, such as theInternet, a secure LAN, WAN, or other network. The carrier network 40controls messages (generally being data packets) sent to a messagingservice controller (“MSC”) 42. The carrier network 40 communicates withthe MSC 42 by a network, the Internet, and/or POTS (“plain ordinarytelephone system”). Typically, the network or Internet connectionbetween the carrier network 40 and the MSC 42 transfers data, and thePOTS transfers voice information. The MSC 42 is connected to multiplebase stations (“BTS”) 44. In a similar manner to the carrier network,the MSC 42 is typically connected to the BTS 44 by both the networkand/or Internet for data transfer and POTS for voice information. TheBTS 44 ultimately broadcasts messages wirelessly to the wirelessdevices, such as cellular telephone 12, by short messaging service(“SMS”), or other over-the-air methods known in the art.

[0026] Each wireless device, such as cellular telephone 12, has acomputer platform 50 that can receive and execute software applicationsand display data transmitted from the application download server 16 orother network servers, such as the carrier server 30. The computerplatform 50 also includes an application-specific integrated circuit(“ASIC”) 52, or other processor, microprocessor, logic circuit, or otherdata processing device. The ASIC 52 is installed at the time ofmanufacture of the wireless device and is not normally upgradeable. TheASIC 52 or other processor executes the application programminginterface (“API”) layer 54 that interfaces with any resident programs inthe memory 56 of the wireless device. The memory can be comprised ofread-only or random-access memory (RAM and ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, flashcards, or any memory common to computer platforms. The computer platform50 also includes a local database 58 that can hold the softwareapplications, files, and/or data initially loaded onto the wirelessdevice 12 by the manufacturer or downloaded from the applicationdownload server 16. The local database 58 is typically comprised of oneor more flash memory cells, but can be any secondary or tertiary storagedevice as known in the art, such as magnetic media, EPROM, EEPROM,optical media, tape, or soft or hard disk.

[0027]FIG. 3 depicts a component architecture of a system for activatinga feature on a wireless device in an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The wireless device 300 may be manufactured and/or on anetwork that can potentially give it access to many features 310,including, but not limited to, voice recognition, GPS, voice mail,CDMA2000 1x data rates, caller ID, MP3 and others. Some of thesefeatures are activated on the wireless device itself, such as access toGPS, while others may require the use of a carrier server to activatethe feature. For example, a user of a wireless device 300 may want voicemail associated with it, but the voice mail storage may be stored on thecarrier's server. In either case, it may be desirable to inform thecarrier server that a given feature is activated. While the wirelessdevice 300 may have the potential to access these many features 310,they may not all be activated on the wireless device 300. For example,even though the wireless device may have a GPS feature built into theprocessing chip, it may not be activated because the user chose not topay for the functionality, the carrier chose not to support it, and/orapplications were not developed at the time the wireless device 300 wasmanufactured that took advantage of the feature, as well as otherreasons.

[0028] In an exemplary embodiment, a component 305 is stored on thedownload server 315. The download server may provide other applicationsaccessible to the wireless device 300, such as applications or othercontent data. The wireless device 300 activates a feature 310 byrequesting the component 305 from the download server. The component 305is received by and stored in the wireless device 300. The wirelessdevice then executes the component 305.

[0029] The component 305 contains the software logic to configure thewireless device so that the requested feature may be activated.Configuring the wireless device may include setting parameters, updatingaccess tables or otherwise indicating to the wireless device or theplatform on the wireless device that the feature may be accessed by thewireless device. The component may also contain other information, suchas expiration data for when the feature is to be deactivated, as well asother licensing terms or other data that is useful in processing relatedto the activation of the feature.

[0030] The component 305 may also send a message to a carrier server335, such as indicating that the feature being activated on the wirelessdevice or requesting activation of the feature in the case where thecarrier server 335 must also be configured. The carrier server 335receives the message sent by the component and updates a profileassociated with the wireless device indicating that the feature isactivated. Updating the profile provides the carrier with knowledge thatthat feature is activated. This is useful so the carrier can account forwhich wireless devices are using what features. This is also useful forbilling and performing tests or diagnostics. The carrier server 305 mayalso use the message retrieved from the component to configure itsserver to activate the feature requested by the wireless device. Asstated above, some features may require a carrier server to beconfigured, such as voice mail. In the case where the activationrequires additional actions by the carrier server other than justupdating of profile for billing or other diagnostics, the carrier serverwill use the message and perform the necessary functions to configurethe carrier server so that the user may access the feature requested.

[0031]FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting the high-level steps associatedwith activating a feature for a wireless device in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The feature is requested on thewireless device (Step 400). This request may be performed by the userwanting additional services or functions associated with the wirelessdevice. Alternatively, the request may be initiated by an applicationneeding the feature in order to execute properly. For example, if a userof a wireless device wishes to execute a mapping program but the GPSfeature is not activated on a wireless device. When the user executesthe mapping application, the mapping application, or the platform onwhich the mapping application is being executed, may determine that theGPS feature does not exist and then initiate the request to activate theGPS function. In another alternative, a server may request that afeature be activated for a wireless device. Such features may be usefulto the carrier in performing diagnostics or network optimization. Theuser of the wireless device may not be aware that such features arebeing activated.

[0032] Next, the feature is activated for the wireless device (Step405). Activating a feature for the wireless device may take multipleconfiguration steps, such as may be configured to indicate to theapplications and other tasks accessing the wireless device that thisfeature is now available. Furthermore, the steps required to configure awireless device so that a feature is activated will vary based onseveral factors specific to the wireless device, including the type ofhardware, including processors, used by the wireless device, themechanisms used by the controlling software or wireless device platformthat expose the feature to the wireless device. Similarly, the stepsused to configure a carrier server to activate a feature or update aprofile will vary based on the individual characteristics of the carrierserver. The steps necessary to activate a feature for a specificwireless device or carrier server, as well as updating the profile onthe carrier server, will be recognized by those skilled in the art.

[0033] In one embodiment, the wireless device contains a platform thatinterfaces between the applications and data on the wireless device andthe wireless device hardware. Such a platform, for example, the BREW™platform developed by QUALCOMM®, Inc. headquartered in San Diego,Calif., was briefly described in FIG. 2. Activating the feature on thedevice in one embodiment includes indicating to the platform that thisfeature has been requested and the platform initiating the availabilityof that feature on the wireless device. This can be performed by havinga feature table and an indication in the table that the feature is nowaccessible. As described above, it will be recognized by those skilledin the art that there will be many variables and methods used toindicate and configure a wireless device for the given feature.

[0034] After configuring the wireless device in Step 405, a server isconfigured to activate the feature for the wireless device (Step 410).Some features as described above may use a server. For example, the useof voice mail or call waiting may require the need of a separate serverto be used. The server is configured to indicate that this feature beingrequested be activated for the specific wireless device.

[0035] In addition, the server may be required to indicate in theprofile that this feature is being activated for the wireless device.This may be the case even if the server is not being used for thefeature. For example, if a feature is activated for a wireless devicethat only uses the wireless device resources, such as an MP3 feature ora GPS feature, the server may be notified of this so that it can trackthat the wireless device has this capability and can bill for this addedfeature. The server may provide additional access to functions of thenetwork that are not accessible by the wireless device until thewireless device is configured to do so. For example, in a CDMA network,if the wireless device contains a CDMA2000 1x chip, but is notconfigured to transmit data at 1x data rates, the server will beconfigured to allow the wireless device to transmit 1x data rates.

[0036] The feature is then deactivated when an expiration is reached(Step 415). When a feature is requested by the wireless device,expiration parameters may be associated with the feature. For example,if the user is activating voice mail, the user may purchase the use ofvoice mail for three months. This expiration parameter may be associatedwith the activation of this feature so that the operating system,platform, or other monitoring application on the wireless devicedetermine if the feature has expired and therefore be deactivated. Inaddition, the expiration parameter may be stored on the wireless deviceand/or on a server associated with the wireless device, and the requestto deactivate based on expiration may be received from a server. Othermethods, in addition to expiration described above, for deactivating thefeature include initiating deactivation from a server or from the userrequesting deactivation of the feature.

[0037]FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting the steps to activate a feature ona wireless device in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.The user selects a feature to activate for the wireless device (Step500). As described above, a wireless device may have several featurescapable of being accessed but may be deactivated for various reasonssuch as the user not having purchased or activated these features at thetime of receiving the wireless device. In one embodiment, the user maybe presented with a menu on the wireless device which depicts a list offeatures that the wireless device can access and activate for its use.In addition, the applications that the wireless device may execute,whether already contained on the wireless device or otherwise downloadedto the wireless device, may require use of features that are notcurrently activated on the wireless device. In this case, theapplication may request the feature be activated.

[0038] In one embodiment, the user selects from a list of featuresassociated with the wireless device to activate it. The user may also begiven the option to select a time period for which this feature isactivated (e.g., an expiration period). It is also within the scope ofthis invention that the user may also be presented with other licensingterms or parameters associated with the feature to accept or declineprior to activating the feature.

[0039] The wireless device downloads the component with the expirationdate and executes the component (Step 505). In one embodiment, thiscomponent contains the configuring logic for the wireless device, andthe expiration date associated with the feature and selected by theuser. In addition, the component contains an indication of what to senda server associated with the wireless device to activate the feature.

[0040] Next, the component configures the handset and provides thehandset access to the feature (Step 510). The component then sends amessage to the server configuring the feature for the wireless device(Step 515). The server may use the receipt of this message to initiatethe configuration steps necessary to activate this feature for thewireless device and/or update any profiles so that the appropriatebilling or other desired functions may be performed (Step 520). Thefeature's expiration date is periodically checked to determine if it hasexpired (Step 525). This check may be performed by the component thatwas downloaded and installed on the wireless device, by the server, orother applications associated with the wireless device. If the featurehas not expired, the feature will continue to be accessible by thewireless device. In the event that the feature has expired, thenprocessing proceeds to deactivate the feature (Step 530). Afterdeactivating the feature, the component may be removed from the wirelessdevice so as to free up memory storage for other programs.

[0041]FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system depicting the elements inprocessing a triggering event associated with an application on awireless device in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Inone embodiment, the system includes an application download server 605having at least one application 610. Note that while “application” isused in this description, the present invention may be used with otherinformation, such as content, or other data that can have a triggeringparameter associated with it.

[0042] In one embodiment, the wireless device 600 requests to downloadthe application 610 from the application download server 605. Theapplication download server may process the application for the wirelessdevice. For example, the user of the wireless device 600 may request theapplication be downloaded with the condition that the application willexpire. An expiration date, or other expiration parameter may beassociated with the application 610. It will be recognized by thoseskilled in the art that triggering events, other than an expiration, maybe associated with information in implementing the present invention.

[0043] The application download server 605, may also include extra dataassociated with the application. This extra data, such as a URL, maycontain scripts or other data that the wireless device can use foradditional processing when the triggering event occurred. It will berecognized by those skilled in the art that the triggering event, andextra data need not bound to the application by the application downloadserver 605 but can be received by the wireless device through othersystems or mechanisms or can be associated together at the wirelessdevice.

[0044] The wireless device 600 contains the information, triggeringevent parameter and extra data. Or as depicted in FIG. 6, theapplication has the extra data, and triggering event, such as anexpiration date, associated with the application. The wireless devicemay have a platform, such as the BREW™ platform developed by QUALCOMMIncorporated, headquartered in San Diego Calif., which may be used tomonitor the execution and/or the triggering event parameter. It will berecognized that other monitoring programs or paradigms may be used tomonitor for the triggering event.

[0045] The platform 625 may be used to interface between the hardware630 on the wireless device and the application and other data associatedwith the application (collectively 620). In one embodiment, the platformmonitors the triggering event parameter and initiates the triggeringevent processing based on the parameter. For example, if the triggeringevent parameter is an expiration date, the platform checks the date inthe system against the expiration date parameter and determines if theapplication has expired. If the application has expired the platformbegins the processing described herein.

[0046]FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting the high level steps associatedwith processing a triggering event in a wireless device in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The method begins with downloadingthe application (or other information), the triggering event parameter,and extra data (Step 700). As described above, any information that canhave a triggering event parameter associated with it may be used, notjust an application.

[0047] The process continues to monitor the triggering event parameter(Step 705). The triggering event parameter is any function, value orpiece of data that can be evaluated to determine if a triggering eventoccurred. It may be date or time related. It may also be number of uses,or accesses associated with the information, for example. Furthermore,the triggering event parameter may have no direct relation to theunderlying information it is associated with. For example, thetriggering event may be to evaluate when another application executes,and when it does, start the termination of a different application.

[0048] When the evaluation of the triggering event parameter indicatesthat the triggering event should be processed (Step 710), the “Yes”branch is followed and the extra data, such as a Uniform ResourceLocater (URL) associated with the application is processed (Step 715)The extra data may contain a script, instructions, a pointer toinstructions, or some data that may be processed. In one embodiment, theURL contains a script that directs the a wireless device to process somefunctions either locally, i.e., within the wireless device, and/orremotely, involving, in part or in total, other systems outside thewireless device.

[0049] After the extra data is processed, the triggering event isprocessed (step 720). In this manner, additional processing associatedwith the triggering event may be associated with an application withouthaving to alter the triggering event processing. When the trigger eventoccurs, the extra data is processed in addition to the triggering event.

[0050]FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting the processing associated with anapplication expiration triggering event and processing a URL upon thetrigger of the expiration in an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The method receives an indication that the triggering eventassociated with an application, such as an expiration, occurred (Step800). Prior to processing the expiration, extra data, such as a URL alsoassociated with the application is placed in a queue (Step 805). Becausethe extra data may involve remote tasks, one advantage of placing it ina queue is that if the extra data requires connection to a network toperform the tasks, such as send instructions or data to a remote system,the processing of the extra data will not be lost of the wireless deviceprocessing the extra data does not have coverage (i.e., not connected tothe network). Therefore, when the wireless device has coverage, it canretrieve the extra data from the queue and process the extra data.

[0051] The URL is retrieved from the queue and the wireless device'sregistry is checked to see if it has the corresponding handler (Step810). It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the URL maybe formatted in a manner such that it can be determined to have aspecific handler or be processed in a specific manner, such havedifferent MIME types. If the handler is found (Step 815), then it islaunched (Step 820). The handler then parses the URL (Step 825). Basedon the results of parsing the URL, the handler, or other process,processes local actions (Step 830) and/or processes remote actions (Step835). Following the processing associated with parsing the URL, theprocess proceeds to Step 840 where the triggering event associated withthe application, such as the application's expiration, is processed(Step 840). Note that if no extra data was associated with theapplication, this above process would continue to process the triggeringevent. In this manner, systems implementing these embodiments, candevise one triggering event processing and modify the actions that takeplace when the triggering event occurs for specific information usingthe extra data.

[0052] Note that if the handler was not found in Step 815, the “No”branch is followed and the process proceeds to process the triggeringevent.

[0053] The present invention includes a program resident in a computerreadable medium, where the program directs a wireless device having acomputer platform to perform the inventive steps of the method. Thecomputer readable medium can be the memory 56 of the computer platform50 of the cellular telephone 12, or other wireless device 18, 20, 22, orcan be in a local database, such as local database 58 of the cellulartelephone 12. Further, the computer readable medium can be in asecondary storage media that is loadable onto a wireless device computerplatform, such as a magnetic disk or tape, optical disk, hard disk,flash memory, or other storage media as is known in the art.

[0054] The present invention may be implemented, for example, byoperating portion(s) of the wireless network 14 to execute a sequence ofmachine-readable instructions, such as wireless platform 50, theapplication download server 16, and any other network server 30, 32. Theinstructions can reside in various types of signal-bearing or datastorage primary, secondary, or tertiary media. The media may comprise,for example, RAM (not shown) accessible by, or residing within, thecomponents of the wireless network 14. Whether contained in RAM, adiskette, or other secondary storage media, the instructions may bestored on a variety of machine-readable data storage media, such as DASDstorage (e.g., a conventional “hard drive” or a RAID array), magnetictape, electronic read-only memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM), flashmemory cards, an optical storage device (e.g. CD-ROM, WORM, DVD, digitaloptical tape), paper “punch” cards, or other suitable data storage mediaincluding digital and analog transmission media.

[0055] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative embodiments ofthe invention, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of theinvention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing a triggering eventassociated with information, comprising: receiving the triggering eventparameter associated with the information; receiving extra data capableof being processed; monitoring the triggering event parameter; and inthe event the triggering event occurs based on analysis of thetriggering event parameter, processing the extra data.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the step of storing the extra dataassociated with the triggering event.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe extra data is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the triggering event parameter is an expiration dateand the triggering event is the expiration of the information.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the extra data is modified and the step ofprocessing extra data includes processing the modified extra data. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering event occurs in a wirelessdevice and the step of processing the extra data includes connecting toa wireless network.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising thestep of performing triggering event processing.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein the triggering event processing includes processingindependent to the information associated with the triggering event. 9.A method of expiration processing for an application, comprising:receiving the expiration parameter, a URL containing a script and anapplication at a wireless device; monitoring the wireless device todetermine if the expiration parameter indicates the application hasexpired; processing the URL; and processing the expiration of theapplication.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein processing the URLincludes performing functions associated locally with the wirelessdevice.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein processing the URL includesperforming functions associated with remote systems to the wirelessdevice.
 12. A wireless device for processing a triggering eventassociated with information and extra data, comprising: the wirelessdevice containing monitoring logic to monitor a triggering eventparameter, wherein the wireless device also selectively processes atriggering event and processes extra data upon occurrence of atriggering event.
 13. The wireless device of claim 12, wherein thewireless device initiates connection to a wireless network whenprocessing the extra data.
 14. A computer readable medium containingcomputer instructions that when executed perform a method for processinga triggering event associated with information, comprising the steps of:receiving the triggering event parameter associated with theinformation; receiving extra data capable of being processed; monitoringthe triggering event parameter; and in the event the triggering eventoccurs based on analysis of the triggering event parameter, processingthe extra data.
 15. An apparatus used to process a triggering eventassociated with information, comprising: means for receiving thetriggering event parameter associated with the information; means forreceiving extra data capable of being processed; means for monitoringthe triggering event parameter; and in the event the triggering eventoccurs based on analysis of the triggering event parameter, means forprocessing the extra data.